Tampa International Airport is ready to welcome the flocks of passengers coming to Tampa for Super Bowl LV.
Spokeswoman Emily Nipps said they're expecting about 30,000 more passengers each day heading into Super Bowl weekend, with the bulk of them coming in closer to the end of the week.
In addition, airlines have added flights to and from Kansas City, home to the Chiefs — the opponents of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Sunday's NFL Championship Game.
But Nipps said the COVID-19 pandemic is still curbing travel.
"So we will be busy, busier than we've been the past several months, but we still won't see the kind of numbers we've seen in 2019 on a peak day," she said.
TPA has signed up nearly 2,000 volunteers to help visitors and passengers at the airport.
But Nipps said perhaps the biggest travel day will be the day after the Super Bowl, because people tend not to stay in town after the big game.
"Our airlines are ready, concessions are ready, our restaurants are ready. TSA is ready," she said. "So we know that that's going to be a good day for us."
And because a throng of people will be passing through over the next week, the airport is joining the fight against human trafficking.
Signs posted on electronic billboards are encouraging visitors that if they "see something," they should "say something."
Copyright 2021 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. To see more, visit WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7.